GSTN chairman said out of the 80 lakh tax payers, 66 lakh have already migrated to the GSTN network and the system is working well.

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India Today Web Desk

New Delhi

June 30, 2017

UPDATED: July 1, 2017 19:10 IST

Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) chairman Navin Kumar has rejected the claim by some political leaders that the software to launch the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is not ready.

Navin Kumar said, "Erroneous information is going around that our system has not been tested. We have tested our system thoroughly for rolling out GST."

"We have tested our software system at various levels. The tests have been done elaborately and thoroughly from the initial stage to consumer delivery stage," he said.

Responding to another question, Navin Kumar said, "We have about 80 lakh people who are tax payers in the country. Of the 80 lakh tax payers, 66 lakh have already migrated to the GSTN network. The system has been working well."

IS THERE A PLAN B?

Navin Kumar also said that the GSTN has prepared the ground to ensure that there is no data loss in case of any glitch that might develop in rolling out the GST.

"Like any other information technology plan, GSTN has also put a system in place to ensure that data is not lost. We have what is called Business Continuity Planning (BCP) system. The BCP is essential part of IT planning. It provides for working in case system develops some glitches. No data would be lost," Navin Kumar said.

Navin Kumar was speaking at the Tryst With Tax Conclave of India Today. He participated in the discussion along with Revenue Secretary Hansmukh Adhia.

Participating in the discussion Adhia said that GST would increase transparency and reduce tax evasion.

GST TO BENEFIT ALL

Responding to another query, Adhia said, "Anybody having turnover of Rs 10 lakh or more had to file for VAT. Now, under the GST, it has been raised to Rs 20 lakh. So, the traders will have benefit from GST. Only those are opposing, who are tax evaders."

Adhia defended the decision to tax clothing saying, "People from textile industry are asking to remain outside the tax chain. This is not possible."

Adhia also tried to allay fear that tax refunds would be a troublesome affair for the traders. He said, "For those exporting products, 90 per cent of the refund would be released within seven days after submission of online application."

Adhia also said that real estate prices and the cost of mobile phones would not increase due to GST rollout.

Talking about anti-profiteering authority, Adhia said it is an autonomous and five-member central body. It has two screening bodies at the state and central level. If both bodies are convinced that profiteering has been done, they will conduct an enquiry before referring the matter to the anti-profiteering authority.